tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-203898992024-02-06T21:16:53.067-05:00The Inventive TinkererThe adventures of a creative mind trapped in a world of matter and energy.Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-13471349559468110922009-11-14T08:56:00.002-05:002009-11-14T09:02:02.514-05:00The FauxtarThe Fauxtar:<br /><object width="400" height="300"> <param name="flashvars" value="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F44673899%40N06%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F44673899%40N06%2F&user_id=44673899@N06&jump_to="></param> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F44673899%40N06%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F44673899%40N06%2F&user_id=44673899@N06&jump_to=" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br />It's a controller for <a href="http://fretsonfire.sourceforge.net/">Frets on Fire</a> an open source version of Guitar Hero. Katie and I have gotten kind of addicted to it, so I decided to make a real controller for it. It's made from a lot of scrap pine, some pieces of steel and aluminum that I had lying around, and the control PCB from an old PS/2 keyboard. The game requires the F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, right Shift, and Return keys, so I mapped out the F-keys on the neck, and the right Shift and Return (alt pick and pick, respectively) to two switches in the body. I'm working on the second generation of buttons, <a href="http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=7836">made from the same lighted membrane switches as those on the Monome</a>.Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-80821627399450568832009-11-02T10:08:00.004-05:002009-11-02T10:14:19.985-05:00Good Weekend!Well, that was a good weekend! Katie and I recently discovered <a href="http://fretsonfire.sourceforge.net/">Frets on Fire</a>, an open-source alternative to guitar hero, so I decided to make a guitar-shaped controller for it. I'm now half done, so here's a picture of Katie's Axe in its current condition:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHkvQDfsxfepv0NPkwHzd5ldkPqIMBV3zLhbZ4im_zLMbfKadAv62l06Q-H6vWXBfa1HZDZvPfhnrj5KLGskWy4Un-59Fd80lfOWKyebhGRDeI-YmTe5L_t3GDAwXsidaltjHQUg/s1600-h/IMG_1668.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHkvQDfsxfepv0NPkwHzd5ldkPqIMBV3zLhbZ4im_zLMbfKadAv62l06Q-H6vWXBfa1HZDZvPfhnrj5KLGskWy4Un-59Fd80lfOWKyebhGRDeI-YmTe5L_t3GDAwXsidaltjHQUg/s400/IMG_1668.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399524062439487458" /></a><br />Also, on a visit to <a href="http://www.fingerlakesreuse.org/">Finger Lakes ReUse</a> yesterday, we found an iRobot Roomba 400 for $20!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWBbQ1nqd90deej9cgxOtbyLiEBAeqR6eeOW3VPx-OZI5t0tqONg0rR79iMZzo0aBAcvEl20fsKxBPZwuWuVMR2sTMYqNHfN42QPERrWV2XHhOdiSMNvtqwM876wsh1BHwKtFiLA/s1600-h/1286960_290.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 290px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWBbQ1nqd90deej9cgxOtbyLiEBAeqR6eeOW3VPx-OZI5t0tqONg0rR79iMZzo0aBAcvEl20fsKxBPZwuWuVMR2sTMYqNHfN42QPERrWV2XHhOdiSMNvtqwM876wsh1BHwKtFiLA/s400/1286960_290.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399524537717534834" /></a><br />All in all, a pretty good weekend. More on the Axe, and what we do with the Roomba as events warrant.Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-46969291259567392392009-08-05T06:24:00.002-04:002009-08-05T06:26:31.302-04:00New Work at WorkLet's see... since the last post, I've worked on several things at work, but the most interesting thing coming soon will probably be the chimp-proofing project I'm going to be working on for sound recorders that are going to be used in central Africa. I'll have pictures of the new office in all its glory up soon.Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-56144886832121393642009-07-11T06:16:00.002-04:002009-07-11T06:25:50.975-04:00Over a MonthLots of things have happened in the last month, but here's what matters:<br />1. Katie and I moved to Ithaca, NY after<br />2. I got a job as a "Mechanical Design and Manufacturing Engineer" with the <a href="http://birds.cornell.edu/">Cornell Lab of Ornithology's</a> <a href="http://birds.cornell.edu/brp/">Bioacoustics Research Program</a> after which<br />3. I was told to I may be refurbishing this shop <table style="width:194px;"><tr><td align="center" style="height:194px;background:url(http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat left"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/petmar/CLOBRPFirstWeek?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_z_TXLamXxFU/SlfKkKhOQTE/AAAAAAAABhk/ql0yyneEWMo/s160-c/CLOBRPFirstWeek.jpg" width="160" height="160" style="margin:1px 0 0 4px;"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align:center;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/petmar/CLOBRPFirstWeek?feat=embedwebsite" style="color:#4D4D4D;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;">CLO BRP First Week</a></td></tr></table> and<br />4. Katie built a worm bin!<br /><br />Today, I think we're going to the <a href="http://fingerlakesdragonboat.org/">Dragon Boat races</a> on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cayuga_Lake">Cayuga Lake</a>, and watching from the <a href="http://www.ithacamarket.com/">Ithaca Farmers Market</a>. And on monday, I have to write a justification for spending $1800, rather than $10000, on a milling machine.Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-1609802814966112102009-06-05T08:09:00.001-04:002009-06-05T08:09:41.564-04:00Pine Siskin Patterns<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21020251@N04/3597929158/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3622/3597929158_7c8cf3bf68_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21020251@N04/3597929158/">pineSiskin1</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/21020251@N04/">petmar0</a></span></div>I took a look at some bird songs in <a href="http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp/raven/RavenOverview.html">RavenLite</a>, and when I saw this in the "twee!" syllable of Pine Siskin song, I realized something interesting was going on. Not only were there two independent signals, the melodies were going in opposite directions, and the composition led to a great deal of harmonics. The most interesting thing is the way you can tell that they are harmonics: the slopes of the lines increase geometrically as they increase in frequency, causing what looks to be an exponential increase.<br />Who says songbirds aren't fascinating?!<br clear="all" />Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-5979389597098135832009-05-19T13:21:00.001-04:002009-05-19T13:22:23.551-04:00New Instructable<object width="425" height="425" align="middle"><param name="movie" value="http://www.instructables.com/static/flash/viewer.swf"></param><param name="quality" value="high"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="FlashVars" value="title=Simple-Bike-Pannier"></param><embed src="http://www.instructables.com/static/flash/viewer.swf" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="425" height="425" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="transparent" FlashVars="title=Simple-Bike-Pannier" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></object><br><font size="1"><a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-Bike-Pannier/">Simple Bike Pannier</a> - <a href="http://www.instructables.com/">More DIY How To Projects</a></font><br />And next time, I think I need to rant about seltzer, and more importantly, soda.Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-14409605648407817552009-05-08T06:55:00.002-04:002009-05-08T06:58:03.694-04:00It's been a while...Though, in my defense, I've been rather busy. I will admit that a lot of this time has been spent birding, and, strangely, I feel as though that's not quite the right subject matter for this blog. I may have to start a birding blog. Over the last week, I have had a lot of job search-related things to do, and so that is what's keeping me busy now. I think I'll probably get a little bit more update time, but I'm not certain how much, or when.Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-83716709151387358152009-05-06T06:38:00.001-04:002009-05-06T06:39:21.419-04:00Trying out ShutterstockI'm trying out Shutterstock. Within the next couple of days, a gallery should appear in this post. When that happens, I'll probably put it in the sidebar.<br /><div style="width: 400px; padding: 20px; border: 1px solid #E0E0E0"><br /> <center><br /> <span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Sans-Serif"><br /> <b>My latest images for sale at <br /> <a href=http://www.shutterstock.com/?rid=388813>Shutterstock</a>:</b><br><br><br /> </span> <br /> <script language='javascript'><br /> var shutterstock_table='';<br /> </script><br /> <script src='http://www.shutterstock.com/mini_gallery.js?s=388813&t=l' language='javascript'><br /> </script><br /> <script language='javascript'>document.write(shutterstock_table);</script> <br /> </center><br /></div><br /><p> <br /><div style="width: 400px; padding: 20px; border: 1px solid #E0E0E0"><br /> <center><br /> <span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Sans-Serif"><br /> <b>My most popular images for sale at <br /> <a href=http://www.shutterstock.com/?rid=388813>Shutterstock</a>:</b><br><br><br /> </span> <br /> <script language='javascript'>var shutterstock_table='';</script><br /> <script src='http://www.shutterstock.com/mini_gallery.js?s=388813&t=p' language='javascript'><br /> </script><br /> <script language='javascript'>document.write(shutterstock_table);</script><br /> </center><br /></div>Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-14171596188456813792009-05-01T06:35:00.002-04:002009-05-01T06:40:01.811-04:00The Things People Give You...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21020251@N04/3488708895/" title="My Going Away Present by petmar0, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3393/3488708895_76809c14fa.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="My Going Away Present" /></a><br />This happens to be a concrete core sample that was found outside of the Materials Research Lab at Penn State, under a bush. The person who found it is the technical staff machinist, Chris Jabco. Impressed by the smoothness of the core, Chris clear-coated the sample with urethane. Then, it sat on his desk for over a year and a half. Yesterday, on my last day at MRL, I was told that the tech staff had something they needed to give me before I left. It turns out that they all signed the core, and that it was now my going away present. Chris said, "That there is a conversation piece." I said, "I'll put it on the coffee table. No, it'll be one leg of the coffee table!"<br /><br />Ah, the wonderful going away presents they give you at places where you make stuff.Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-46977726532553318842009-04-29T21:53:00.002-04:002009-04-29T22:04:27.089-04:00More on the Birding CupThe <a href="http://www.outreach.psu.edu/shaverscreek/index-birding-cup.html">Birding Cup</a> has become an annual event for us. Katie first participated in the 24 hours of birding madness two years ago, and last year was my induction. In both cases, we competed for "The Boot", an award given to birders who spot the most species while only using human-powered transportation. After having won The Boot last year, our team, the <a href="http://timberdoodle.org/">Timberdoodles</a>, proclaimed that it "smelled of manky victory!" Last year, we got over 40 species by hiking, and camping, around <a href="http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/baldeagle.aspx">Bald Eagle State Park</a>. This year, however, we're staying in town, and biking an undisclosed path, hopefully to more "manky victory"!Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-77811508347297971082009-04-26T06:50:00.002-04:002009-04-26T07:18:44.070-04:00Birding Cup PreparationYesterday, Katie and I were out all day on a bike ride and hike, preparing for the <a href="http://www.outreach.psu.edu/shaverscreek/index-birding-cup.html">Birding Cup</a>. We biked about 8 miles, and probably walked another 2, and saw about 24 species of birds. We're hopeful that we'll do better during the Cup itself.<br />Here's a link to an album of the day:<br /><table style="width:194px;"><tr><td align="center" style="height:194px;background:url(http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat left"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/petmar/BirdingCupPrepKatSKidsAndBlueAndWhiteWeekend?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_z_TXLamXxFU/SfRBZ-U6d7E/AAAAAAAAA1s/W3ncHfwRUys/s160-c/BirdingCupPrepKatSKidsAndBlueAndWhiteWeekend.jpg" width="160" height="160" style="margin:1px 0 0 4px;"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align:center;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/petmar/BirdingCupPrepKatSKidsAndBlueAndWhiteWeekend?feat=embedwebsite" style="color:#4D4D4D;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;">Birding Cup Prep, Kat's Kids, and Blue and White Weekend</a></td></tr></table>Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-16773258115442820212009-04-25T06:19:00.003-04:002009-04-25T06:20:39.146-04:00AdSenseFinally managed to get Google AdSense to work. Hope those of you who are still coming here don't mind, and don't mind clicking a few things.<br /><br />Let me know what you think of it in the comments, especially if you'd like sidebar, between posts, or both.Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-3206415756903382282009-04-24T20:01:00.001-04:002009-04-24T20:05:22.038-04:00Today's Special<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21020251@N04/3471444781/" title="Bird's Nest by petmar0, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3553/3471444781_97676515e5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Bird's Nest" /></a><br />I saw this bird's nest today at work. I love it when birds actually use <a href="http://www.3tproducts.com/shop/pc/viewcategories.asp?idCategory=2">aviary netting</a> in their nests!<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21020251@N04/3472256812/" title="Bikes by petmar0, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3638/3472256812_175c17fae6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Bikes" /></a><br />And we biked over to <a href="http://ottospubandbrewery.com/">Otto's</a> for dinner today.<br /><br />Check out the flickr photostream, and also the Picasa page over there on the right navbar!Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-16852170255062281342009-04-24T08:48:00.003-04:002009-04-24T08:50:57.712-04:00Haiku<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZB4NDwkqsWHd1hhgskEsbHOokafs7HMbzIaNbS7D4kMOnAbPvbFSXjPKIU5rQpZmSLoUzFXvJRHDMGRGE0T2ihoC6yHg2pqAtycOPiYgU2ALmsCVXtyEVwlykhat58UP7001tWQ/s1600-h/IMG_0165.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZB4NDwkqsWHd1hhgskEsbHOokafs7HMbzIaNbS7D4kMOnAbPvbFSXjPKIU5rQpZmSLoUzFXvJRHDMGRGE0T2ihoC6yHg2pqAtycOPiYgU2ALmsCVXtyEVwlykhat58UP7001tWQ/s400/IMG_0165.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328239192829392514" /></a><br /><center><blockquote>Long morning shadows<br />Ever too quickly become<br />Long afternoon ones.</blockquote></center>Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-49238507724477648802009-04-24T06:39:00.003-04:002009-04-24T06:41:48.638-04:00My Bike Ride HomeRode home from Innovation Park on my bike yesterday, and saw a Red Tailed Hawk, a Northern Flicker, a pair of sparkin' Goldfinches, and quite a few other birds. It's funny how much we miss by using cars.<br /><table style="width:194px;"><tr><td align="center" style="height:194px;background:url(http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat left"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/petmar/BikeRideHome?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_z_TXLamXxFU/SfDu0o2xCFE/AAAAAAAAAyA/YRD1s0CZNXM/s160-c/BikeRideHome.jpg" width="160" height="160" style="margin:1px 0 0 4px;"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align:center;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/petmar/BikeRideHome?feat=embedwebsite" style="color:#4D4D4D;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;">Bike Ride Home</a></td></tr></table>Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-69373821386255267802009-04-22T16:18:00.003-04:002009-04-22T16:59:12.203-04:00A Good Press Fit<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21020251@N04/3466499548/" title="Press Fit Detail by petmar0, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3534/3466499548_9c439917e8.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Press Fit Detail"></a><br />I should do an Instructable on this, but here's a brief word on press fitting. In the piece above, which is a counterweight for a <a href="http://www.warnernet.com/PDF/P-771-WE_pg037.pdf">dancer arm</a> on a film stretching machine, there is a copper threaded fitting press fit into a brass part. I made this by first drilling out the copper piece to the right diameter, as seen in the video, tapping the hole for a 1/4-20 thread, and then turning the copper down to the right diameter, .318". The copper then had a shelf of this diameter, and an OD of .5". I then turned the brass piece so that the bottom had a .496" diameter hole leading into the .315" diameter hole. I put the whole assembly into the vise and pressed it together, then went at the bottom with a ball-peen hammer. Finally, I turned the center of the bottom in until the copper and brass were sitting coplanar to one another. Then it was file and sandpaper time!<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxOVUJ83XqHeewCGAmQNZas9zjMV2gEyW-Qw9RDy8TWL8GKrHM0DoKJy-jTMTl05Ez-v7K_AolxBSk' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />I think it looks nice, if I do say so myself.Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-90281236257497074912009-04-20T21:52:00.002-04:002009-04-20T22:29:06.304-04:00The Case for PatentsAs a maker of things, I want, nay, need for things to be open. I need to be certain that I can find documentation on whatever it is that I'm working with. This calls for open standards of information exchange. The best way to do this is open sourcing.<br />However, as someone who wishes to make a living making things, and make a living making lots of different things that will eventually be manufactured, I need protection. What I offer here is what I consider to be a common sense approach to intellectual property.<br /><br />1. Thou shalt be able to license thy IP for cash money.<br />You can patent your product to license it to companies that will manufacture it. How you negotiate those contracts is up to you.<br /><br />2. Thou shalt not hurt the little guy.<br />You should make companies or at least larger businesses pay to be able to reproduce/manufacture your stuff, but individuals and small groups should be encouraged to make their own if they can. Another way of doing this is by allowing access to additional documentation, and by writing a good patent, which according to the USPTO, should be usable to recreate the thing you're patenting by someone "skilled in the art".<br /><br />3. Code is naught but a pattern in binary, and can occur in unenforcable locales: ergo, it is not a "thing" and should not be patented.<br />Shoo! Scram! Software should be copyrighted, like music, art, and other arrangements and patterns. This is about patents, not copyrights! Get out of here and discuss that issue somewhere else! Remember that the binary code for DOS could also be an arrangement of states in atoms of gases in the sun's corona. This means nothing, so don't try to pass it off as something physical.<br /><br />4. Similarly, process patents need to go.<br />A process, like software, is made up of algorithms, which are patterns of something, not a physical unitary thing like a <a href="http://www.google.com/patents?id=InUBAAAAEBAJ">Pneumatic Boxing Glove</a>, or a <a href="http://www.google.com/patents?id=KBE3AAAAEBAJ">Shark Protector Suit</a>.<br /><br />5. Thou shalt not take ownership of biological patterns.<br />DNA patents, too, have to go. How many times do I have to say that, if nature could make it randomly, and probably has, you really shouldn't be protecting it as IP?<br /><br />6. First to file shuts out the little guy; this should not be so.<br />Though our system is first to invent here in the US, it is practically first to file, and it is first to file in the rest of the world. If you get to the patent office late, it doesn't matter how much proof you have, the patent won't be yours. This shuts out all of the small inventors who can't afford marauding gangs of patent attorneys to rush their patents through.<br /><br />7. Thou shalt admit that IP protection is necessary.<br />To allow for people to make more of their wonderful ideas, there must be a way for them to pay their bills without being tied to manufacturing hundred-thousands of their wonderful products. There will always be consumers who, whether for lack of skill, time, or energy, want to buy rather than build. The profits from these sales should enable the creation of more wonderful ideas.<br /><br />And finally...<br />8. Thou shalt pay thy staff to develop their ideas, whether or not they are part of their job, and give them due compensation in the form of majority ownership and control of their patents.<br />In Germany, there is a strict legal procedure governing exactly this, and saying exactly that, which can be found in <a href="http://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/1262/1/German_Inventor_Compensation_230106_DP_LMU.pdf">this paper</a>.<br /><br />Trademarks are fine and dandy, but I think that copyright is a bad concept to begin with, and that you should pay for the media or for the file size when you buy a DVD or download a song, plus some amount to go directly to the artist. Either way, this is a post about patents. I think they're necessary to avoid having people taken advantage of by large manufacturers. And now for the comments!Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-35499374654510578692009-04-18T22:13:00.002-04:002009-04-18T22:17:27.298-04:00A Flag for Hack PittsburghAfter seeing this on <a href="http://hackerspaces.org/">hackerspaces.org</a>...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hackerspaces.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/notaconhackspacefight.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://hackerspaces.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/notaconhackspacefight.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I figured that Hack Pittsburgh, aka hackpgh, needed a flag, too.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21020251@N04/3452972671/" title="Coat_of_Arms_of_HackPittsburgh by petmar0, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3645/3452972671_8dd0b60c77.jpg" width="500" height="480" alt="Coat_of_Arms_of_HackPittsburgh" /></a><br />The symbology is as follows: City walls of the coat of arms of Pittsburgh ascendant atop three bars horizontal in the blue of the city coat of arms' checker pattern; the bars represent Pittsburgh's three rivers, and the outer border of the shield is comprised of a Wheatstone bridge diagram, for the "City of Bridges", and also for its electronic significance as an amplifier, making a small thing larger, as does our organization.Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-7674767993133180832009-04-17T15:01:00.003-04:002009-04-17T15:09:27.205-04:00Strain TestAfter <a href="http://petmar.blogspot.com/2009/04/incredible-dancing-wires.html">the dancing wires</a>, I began thinking that perhaps I should do a little more experimentation with this technology. The video below shows the end result of my testing. The wire, it turns out, extends when heated, and shrinks, even though it's under load, when cooled. Overall, I achieved a result of 1-2% Strain, meaning that the wire extends to 101-102% of its original length when a current is run through it.<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KzhhLN_nnwM&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KzhhLN_nnwM&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />The wire itself is Nichrome, and the setup includes a stand, which holds a BNC-to-banana (female) connector, which anchors the two halves of the heating wire. The mass is a spare part made of aluminum, of approximately 1-1.5 kg, and the wire is being fed current from a temperature controller set for 30 °C, which is connected via a relay to a transformer, sending 12 VAC to the wire. The temperature controller is interfaced to the wire via a K-type thermocouple wrapped under the wire at the top of the setup.Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-21123160669248919692009-04-16T11:43:00.001-04:002009-04-16T11:44:58.901-04:00Hand-Drawn MadnessI got to harken back to the olden days of pen, ink, paper, and a ruler when I had to draw up these mechanical drawings this morning at work. None of the CAD software was giving me any love, so over to the desk and out with the necessaries it was.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"> <param name="flashvars" value="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F21020251%40N04%2Fsets%2F72157616874118998%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F21020251%40N04%2Fsets%2F72157616874118998%2F&set_id=72157616874118998&jump_to="></param> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=70933"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=70933" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F21020251%40N04%2Fsets%2F72157616874118998%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F21020251%40N04%2Fsets%2F72157616874118998%2F&set_id=72157616874118998&jump_to=" width="400" height="300"></embed></object>Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-15430001884617343412009-04-15T23:01:00.001-04:002009-04-15T23:01:15.769-04:00The Incredible Dancing Wires<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="260" height="195" data="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=70848" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"> <param name="flashvars" value="intl_lang=en-us&photo_secret=1a1984d42f&photo_id=3446618008&flickr_show_info_box=true"></param> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=70848"></param> <param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=70848" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="intl_lang=en-us&photo_secret=1a1984d42f&photo_id=3446618008&flickr_show_info_box=true" height="195" width="260"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21020251@N04/3446618008/">The Incredible Dancing Wires</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/21020251@N04/">petmar0</a></span></div><blockquote>A couple of Nichrome heating filaments in the new heater bar that I'm designing hooked up to the new controller I built today began dancing. This is due to the fact that, when heated, they expand along their length. Since they're firmly anchored at each end, they flex away from the channels that they lay in under tension when they're at room temperature, thereby dancing when heated.</blockquote><br />I'm going to see if I can find some time tomorrow to explore this with different wire forms. I know that the stress is proportional to heating, and that the heating, aka Joule heating or Ohmic heating, is a feedback effect which will keep going until it either melts the wire, or current is shut off. I think this could lead to some very interesting actuators, especially if I make a brush with a few of these wires together.<br clear="all" />Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-70227429280514937042009-04-15T22:54:00.001-04:002009-04-15T22:54:50.369-04:00FlickrThis is a test post from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/r/testpost"><img alt="flickr" src="http://www.flickr.com/images/flickr_logo_blog.gif" width="41" height="18" border="0" align="absmiddle" /></a>, a fancy photo sharing thing.Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-60096503900698017222009-04-14T22:34:00.001-04:002009-04-14T22:35:31.588-04:00On the Importance of Z-transformsA response to a comment on the Make: Blog post about my former entry:<br /><blockquote>My recommendations are made due to my experience. Physics is THE best program, from what I've seen and done, to go into if you want to make new, interesting, and useful things. Chemistry ranks a close third behind the engineering disciplines. Of course, if you just want to perpetually use technology without understanding it, you could skip the whole math-based curriculum, but to actually make something new, you need to understand the first principles behind how things work.<br />Or you could just make stuff that's interesting in other majors.<br />At this point, my physics career has taken me from making optical acoustic transducers, to building and testing medical devices, to working with cool magnetostrictive materials, to designing and building tests and test setups for machine calibrations to building custom experimental setups, to being in charge of the refurbishment of a particle accelerator, all in about eight years. And it looks like the fun isn't going to stop any time soon!</blockquote>Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-21670259539367066932009-04-14T22:08:00.003-04:002009-04-14T22:12:58.929-04:00636 of You!Wow! My Analytics tracker shows that there were 636 of you on my blog today! Given the huge response I've gotten off of the Make: Blog, I was wondering, what would YOU like to see me write about? I'm thinking of doing a project article for Make Magazine, and was hoping to get some inspiration in the comments.Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20389899.post-34905783739447185842009-04-14T06:31:00.003-04:002009-04-14T15:56:42.438-04:00Making in CollegeThere's an <a href="http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/04/college_programs_for_young_makers.html">article on the Make: Blog</a> asking about schools for making stuff. I'd like to respond to this: first of all, if you're into making things, you need to pick what kind of things to determine your major. Personally, if you're into making electronic or mechanical things, I'd recommend either going with Electrical Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering, respectively. However, if you're like me and like making anything, it's electronic or mechanical nature notwithstanding, go instead for a Physics major.<br />I went to two universities during my undergraduate career: the <a href="http://www.njit.edu/">New Jersey Institute of Technology</a>, and <a href="http://www.ramapo.edu/">Ramapo College of New Jersey</a>. The former was a great place to make things, as they are a large engineering school. However, it is located in Newark, NJ, which is a bit of a crime-ridden pit, especially in the University Heights section where NJIT is located. My major there was Applied Physics. While there, I was mentored by a brilliant professor by the name of <a href="http://www.njit.edu/features/faculty/gordon-thomas.php">Dr. Gordon Thomas</a>. On my first day in his lab, he showed me to the main room of the lab suite and said, "This is your playground. The most important thing is that you have fun, and create something new."<br />Due to external pressures, I eventually had to leave Dr. Thomas's lab, and moved to Ramapo College. Here I enrolled in the Physics program, which has since changed to Engineering Physics. I also made the acquaintance there of two similarly brilliant professors, Drs. <a href="http://physics.ramapo.edu/~phil/">Anderson</a> and <a href="http://physics.ramapo.edu/~thalpern/">Halpern</a>. Dr. Halpern is the reason that the Physics department at Ramapo got started the way that it did, and the reason that the students always have someone to talk to about various issues. He is a professor emeritus ("retired"), and as he says, is "unable to cut his ties with the students." Since he lives locally, that comes in the form of still showing up on campus most days, hanging out in the "Physics Lounge" in G116, and mentoring students.<br />However, the reason to attend Ramapo College as a maker and as an Engineering Physics student, despite its small size and Liberal Arts emphasis as a college, is Dr. Phil Anderson. Dr. Anderson (not the Nobel Laureate) is the inventor of the magnetic security tag that you see used in retail stores. He is also on the board of directors of a few companies, a licensed pilot who has also flown fighter jets for the Air Force, and an EE, technically; he's full of fun and inspiring stories of vaporizing small fruit with 55-gallon drum sized capacitors, and other fun things like that. In my opinion, however, his biggest contribution outside of his interactions with students is his work in crafting the college's intellectual property policy: thanks to Dr. Anderson, if you invent something at Ramapo, you own it in its entirety. This is very, very rare in a college/university environment, and I have several friends who have used Ramapo's facilities to create things that they later patented. Dr. Anderson also teaches an "Invention for Scientists and Engineers" course that focuses on IP policy and law, prototyping, and other issues involved in making making your profession.<br />More information on life as a student at Ramapo can be found on my old blog, <a href="http://talesfromthelab.blogspot.com/">"Tales from the Lab"</a>, and for general advice to Physics students, check out <a href="http://phystu.blogspot.com/">"The Informed Physics Student"</a>.<br /><br />Later I might tell you why not to go to Penn State, where I'm now working, but just take my word on it for now.Pete Marchettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07272568978812952829noreply@blogger.com3